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Name: Judd Irons Avatar: Seb Coe Age: 57 Sex: Male Ethnicity: White Marital Status: Married Sexual Orientation: Straight Party: Conservative Political Outlook: One Nation Conservatism Constituency: Congleton Year Elected: 2001 Education: King's College London Career: Solicitor Political Career: Backbencher

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Mr Speaker Of course, given the seriousness and gravity of the situation the government will be providing all of the support it can, including giving power to the Environment Agency to make grants for the implementation of the strategies developed under this act and of course through the use of our National Capability fund.

Mr Speaker, I rise in the House today to introduce the Flood Act which will ensure that the government response to the floods is set out in a full, statutory footing by ensuring that both a national and local flood strategy is created for the parts of the country which are, unfortunately, prone to flooding. This piece of legislation will bring about greater cooperation between all authorities and relevant bodies which will ensure a more coherent flood response when it is needed. Furthermore, the legislation also sets on a statutory footing a National Capability for Flood Response which will ensure that - when needed - we have the tools and resilience to tackle any flood threat head on. I ask this bill be read a second time. Flood Act 2008 (1).pdf

Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, and Minister for the Civil Service The Rt Honourable Nicholas Colton MP Chancellor of the Exchequer and Second Lord of the Treasury and First Secretary of State The Rt Honourable Sarah Hastings MP Chief Secretary to the Treasury The Rt Honourable James Manning MP Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs The Rt Honourable William Croft MP Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for the Home Department The Rt Honourable Katherine West MP Secretary of State for Education The Rt Honourable Katherine West MP Secretary of State for Defence The Rt Honourable Arthur Darlington MP Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport The Rt Honourable Andrew Mitchell MP (NPC) Secretary of State for Health and Social Welfare The Rt Honourable Andrew Lam MP Secretary of State for Infrastructure and the Environment The Rt Honourable Dominic Grieve QC MP (NPC) Secretary of State for the Regions The Rt Honourable Andrew Lam MP Chief Whip of the House of Commons and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury The Rt Honourable William Croft MP Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal The Rt Honourable Matthew Richard MP Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council The Lord Coe

Mr Speaker, I would like to rise in the House today to set the record straight with regards to where the Government positions itself on this issue. Throughout this debate, inside and outside of this House, we have heard many different stories of where the Government sits on this issue. Let me tell this House. We believe that a precedent has now been created following our interventions in Iraq and subsequent engagements, that this House should have a vote to indicate whether or not it supports the Governments use of the royal prerogative to deploy Her Majesty's Armed Forces. What this Government will not support is the unnecessary shackling of the Royal Prerogative on the deployment of the armed forces, and I feel that the resolution laid before the house by the Right Honourable Lady is ill-defined in its intention. Something of this magnitude, of this scale, both for the present and indeed the future should be laid out in more than a motion... or at the very least... a more detailed one. If the Right Honourable Lady will allow me to say that the Government is absolutely committed to providing parliament a detailed say on military action and so I must tell her that the government will be tabling an amendment to her motion, which will provide more clarity, not only for this Government but future governments as well.

Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, and Minister for the Civil Service - Northern Ireland Office Cabinet Office Chancellor of the Exchequer and Second Lord of the Treasury - HM Treasury Department of Business, Enterprise, and Regulatory Reform Department for Communities and Local Government Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Foreign and Commonwealth Office Department for International Development Secretary of State for Defence Ministry of Defence Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for the Home Department Home Department Ministry of Justice Government Equalities Office Secretary of State for Education Department for Children, Schools, and Families Department of Innovation, Universities, and Skills Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Department for Culture, Media, and Sport Secretary of State for Health and Social Welfare - Department of Health Department of Work and Pensions Secretary of State for Infrastructure and the Environment - Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs Department of Transport Department of Energy and Climate Change Secretary of State for the Regions Scotland Office Wales Office

Mr Speaker, I thank the Right Honourable gentleman for his comments and he will note that I have authorised the drawing of funds from the contingency fund to meet any and all needs required of the emergency services during this trying time. The commission which we will set out will not only focus on funding, it will focus on a wider flood response strategy which will include all stakeholders as my main statement points out. Following that review, which I have no doubt will recommend that funding increases for flood defences will be recommend, the Government will look to meet that. When the House votes to approve the use of the drawing of the emergency appropriations, I hope he will join with the government in seeing those measures implemented.

Mr Speaker, I rise today to update the House on the situation in the South of England where the met office has issued multiple flood warnings and we have now learned that one-hundred thousand homes are without power or running mains water. I can tell the House that the Government is absolutely looking at every measure to ensure the safety of the situation to the best of our ability. In respect of the issues the area faces, we have received the following information. The rivers Wey and Mole have burst their banks in several areas and evacuation teams are struggling to get to the areas most affected. I can confirm to the House that I have authorised the drawing of extra rescue crews from neighbouring counties which have little risk of flooding, so that the volume of people that can be evacuated can increase. At this moment in time, I have spoken to the relevant authorities and expressed concerns about the rivers bursting their banks further and making matters worse. To this end, I have authorised deployment of the Royal Engineers to the area to help develop flood control strategies and also to employ technology available to them to curtail the flooding. They will also be at hand to assist with development of any flood control measures. I can further confirm to the House that we have issued the highest alert level for the region which will unlock the greatest level of resources for the area. Teams in the area will also be working on restoring power and mains water to the areas; they will also receive assistance from the army to that end. I have spoken with UK Power Networks and they can safely restore power to around 10,000 houses a day given the current weather conditions and I must stress that this may change. The government will work with local stakeholders in the area to ensure the proper provision of shelter for those who cannot return home or are without heat, power and water. These shelters will meet standards of sanitation and catering. This will be part of the unification of the local flood management plan, backed by central government resources to help deliver - absolutely - on those terms. I can further confirm to the House that I have asked local authorities to provide information on those most vulnerable in their areas to work on a priority basis in respect of evacuation if necessary. I have authorised the use of the Army Air Corps to this end which should alleviate pressure on ground crews. The priority for the government at this stage, of course is the prevention of major casualties and we will do everything we can to provide assistance to the area. It is only logical that the government lead the response to this emergency by leading a unified response plan, the Department for Innovation, Infrastructure and the Environment will be heading up this effort and we will be authorising the use of funds, from the contingency fund of any sums that may be necessary to provide for the equipment needed to beat back these floods, including but not limited to flood defences and other important equipment. Destruction of one's home and their possessions is something we want to mitigate also, Mr Speaker, that is why we will be meeting with a host of insurers to ensure the proper provision of policies that will make sure those that have lost, will be compensated. I appreciate there are some questions outstanding about the Government's intention on flood spending and a strategy to prevent the same or indeed mitigate something like this from happening again. I can confirm to the House that we will be undertaking a commission with appropriate stakeholders in the hopes of implementing a comprehensive flood response strategy, with local and national bodies. This is something that requires a multi-agency and level response, right from the heart of government down to recognising the needs of the homeowner or business which ultimately are affected by these floods. Should there be a material change in the circumstances of this ongoing situation, I will report back to the House with those updates. I commend this statement to the House.

Mr Speaker, I bring this legislation to the House in order to fulfil a promise by this government to reduce ministerial salaries by five percent. We have been very clear from the start - we do not believe in top heavy government and that includes the remuneration for ministers of the crown. It is estimated that this change will bring around one million pounds worth of savings which we can use for other important matters in government. We as a government believe that needlessly increasing the salaries of ministers in government year on year to be wasteful and this is our first step in changing that. I beg this bill be read a second time and printed.

Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, and Minister for the Civil Service The Rt Honourable Nicholas Colton MP Chancellor of the Exchequer and Second Lord of the Treasury The Rt Honourable Sarah Hastings MP Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs The Rt Honourable William Croft MP Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for the Home Department The Rt Honourable Katherine West MP Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families The Rt Honourable Katherine West MP Secretary of State for Communities The Rt Honourable Andrew Mitchell MP (NPC) Secretary of State for Health and Social Welfare The Rt Honourable Michael Ashbridge MP Secretary of State for Innovation, Infrastructure, and the Environment The Rt Honourable Dominic Grieve QC MP (NPC) Chief Whip of the House of Commons and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury The Rt Honourable William Croft MP Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal The Rt Honourable Matthew Richard MP Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council The Lord Coe

Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, and Minister for the Civil Service The Rt Honourable Nicholas Colton MP Chancellor of the Exchequer and Second Lord of the Treasury The Rt Honourable Anthony Miles MP Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs The Rt Honourable William Croft MP Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for the Home Department The Rt Honourable Sarah Hastings MP Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families The Rt Honourable Katherine West MP Secretary of State for Communities The Rt Honourable Andrew Mitchell MP (NPC) Secretary of State for Health and Social Welfare The Rt Honourable Michael Ashbridge MP Secretary of State for Innovation, Infrastructure, and the Environment The Rt Honourable Dominic Grieve QC MP (NPC) Chief Whip of the House of Commons and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury The Rt Honourable William Croft MP Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal The Rt Honourable Matthew Richard MP Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council The Lord Coe Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, and Minister for the Civil Service - Northern Ireland Office - Cabinet Office Chancellor of the Exchequer and Second Lord of the Treasury - HM Treasury - Department of Business, Enterprise, and Regulatory Reform Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs - Foreign and Commonwealth Office - Department for International Development - Ministry of Defence Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for the Home Department - Home Department - Ministry of Justice - Government Equalities Office Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families - Department for Children, Schools, and Families Secretary of State for Communities - Department for Communities and Local Government - Department for Culture, Media, and Sport - Scotland Office - Wales Office Secretary of State for Health and Social Welfare - Department of Health - Department of Work and Pensions Secretary of State for Innovation, Infrastructure, and the Environment - Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs - Department of Innovation, Universities, and Skills - Department of Transport

Mr Speaker, Time will be allocated for division on this matter

Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, and Minister for the Civil Service The Rt Honourable Nicholas Colton MP Chancellor of the Exchequer and Second Lord of the Treasury The Rt Honourable Anthony Miles MP Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs The Rt Honourable William Croft MP Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for the Home Department The Rt Honourable Sarah Hastings MP Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families The Rt Honourable Katherine West MP Secretary of State for Defence The Rt Honourable Annette Burton MP Secretary of State for Communities The Rt Honourable Andrew Mitchell MP (NPC) Secretary of State for Health and Social Welfare The Rt Honourable Michael Ashbridge MP Secretary of State for Innovation, Infrastructure, and the Environment The Rt Honourable Dominic Grieve QC MP (NPC) Chief Whip of the House of Commons and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury The Rt Honourable William Croft MP Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal The Rt Honourable Matthew Richard MP Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council The Lord Coe

Mr Speaker I rise in the House today to talk about perhaps one of the most pressing decisions our nation has ever taken in recent memory - the decision to invade Iraq. I know the whole House will join me in remembering our fallen service members who have lost their lives in the conflict. I will not spend too much time on this Mr Speaker except informing the House that the government will be ordering a public inquiry into the matter with the following terms of reference at the initial stages: The circumstances leading up to the decision to go to war, the decisions taken including what influenced former Prime Minister Tony Blair to make the decisions he did. Examination of the legal advice received by the Government regarding the legality of the war. Moving on, the inquiry will then focus on the following terms of reference, as soon as it is practical to do so - with troops still serving in the region. the military conflict itself and the post-conflict administration of Iraq The inquiry will be able to look at and review any British document along with interviewing any British person. The inquiry will have the necessary power to close its doors in the event of any national security matter which will no doubt envelope the inquiry. Above all, and perhaps this point cannot be stressed enough: The inquiry will focus on the lessons to be learned from Britain’s involvement in Iraq and what we can do to prevent another situation like it. It will be chaired by Sir John Chilcott with Sir Lawrence Freedman, Sir Martin Gilbert, Sir Roderic Lyne, Baroness Prashar along with being advised by Sir Roger Wheeler and Dame Rosalyn Higgins. Mr Speaker, I would ask that the House formally approve this measure by approving the following: I commend this statement to the House.

Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, and Minister for the Civil Service - Northern Ireland Office - Cabinet Office Chancellor of the Exchequer and Second Lord of the Treasury - HM Treasury - Department of Business, Enterprise, and Regulatory Reform Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs - Foreign and Commonwealth Office - Department for International Development Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for the Home Department - Home Department - Ministry of Justice - Government Equalities Office Secretary of State for Defence - Ministry of Defence Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families - Department for Children, Schools, and Families Secretary of State for Communities - Department for Communities and Local Government - Department for Culture, Media, and Sport - Scotland Office - Wales Office Secretary of State for Health and Social Welfare - Department of Health - Department of Work and Pensions Secretary of State for Innovation, Infrastructure, and the Environment - Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs - Department of Innovation, Universities, and Skills - Department of Transport

Mr Speaker, For a party that was in government for ten years, steered much of the national conversation, enacted policy and promulgated laws I have never heard such a bleak outlook for our nation be espoused than I just have from the Right Honourable Member. Perhaps it would be the policy of his party if they were back in government to bring us back to the dark old days but this Government is not going to focus on that, we will focus on building a country that works for everyone of us and one for all. The plan of the opposition is very clear: they wish to sow division in our society. The leader of the opposition has a lot of fancy words but really they boil down to a very narrow minded, “us against them,” attitude at a time when we, as a nation, must come together, cooperate with one another and be part of building the society which we all want to live in. While the opposite party chose to put more icing at the top of the cake, in their obsession to create inefficiency, bureaucracy and increase the claws of Whitehall. The government has set out its plans to give the people of this nation tools to build, not to be chained down by the government. In the recent election, our nation voted for change. The right honourable member is quite happy to talk about this wish list of policies that he would implement, he is not responsible, his party are even less responsible now than ever before and the British people - rightly so - soundly rejected it at the polls. When the realities of government are brought to bear on a reckless Labour Party, the right honourable member will turn to Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley to give him the answers, but the only thing they will give us is another Winter of Discontent. It is quite clear from his responses that he wants the government to be the answer to all of the questions that face us as a nation. We reject that. The country rejects that. This government was elected on the idea that we need to build the society to help another, not all of the answers lie in Whitehall - the people have spoken. We have now got to a point where the government is holding back success and opportunity. That is why I am proud of the fact of the policy of this government to move forward with plans to instil responsibility in the nation. To move forward with plans for localised support in many communities that need it most. Time and time again we have heard the leader of the opposition talk about savage cuts which this government will introduce. Again, this is only what I could label as scaremongering tactics which up to now is all that he can offer. I am happy to report to this House that the Government will not be cutting any budgets, with detailed plans to be set out in the Chancellor’s budget. He talks about spooking investors and creating uncertainty, and of course it would suit his party’s agenda which has seemingly rejected the modernisation it so desperately needed just a decade ago. We are glad he mentioned taxes. I am proud to announce that this government will halt Labour’s proposed national insurance contributions increase which targeted the lowest wage earners in society. And yes, he can go on and on about this big bad bogeyman of the destruction this government will cause but of course he is mistaken. This is a government that will work to reduce our overall tax burden where the situation allows. His entire political philosophy relies on the idea that we must saddle our children and future generations which I find to be inherently wrong. The conservative party was elected on the promise to enhance, grow and develop our economy on seven core tenets. Ensuring stability, a balanced economy, getting Britain to work, encouraging enterprise, ensuring the whole country shares in rising prosperity, reforming our public services and building a green economy. This will of course demand a national effort by everyone in the country but I am sure that they will come along in this great journey. While the party opposite wants to lead us down the dark path, this Conservative government will bring us to prosperity and ensure everyone reaps the benefits. I agree with the Leader of the Opposition that the NHS can have both efficient logistical planning and management and outstanding frontline care. Where I disagree is that more spending equals more efficient management. The Leader of the Opposition seems to believe in the mythology of the middle manager. That spending more on middle management and more layers of bureaucracy produce greater efficiency. That is wrong. Returning service delivery and oversight as close to the people as possible and eliminating the middle managers produces greater efficiency. While the Leader of the Opposition devoted plenty of time to the NHS in his speech, I am disappointed that he barely touched upon education at all. Education, Mr Speaker, is vital to this Government’s commitment to deliver a stronger and fairer economy and to give everyone more opportunities in life. We’re going to raise standards in schools by giving headteachers and teachers more autonomy. We’re going to establish a pupil premium so that schools teaching disadvantaged kids have the resources to give them a hand up. And we’re going to finally put good quality vocational education on parity with academic education, including by establishing 20,000 new apprenticeships. I’m disappointed Mr Speaker that the Leader of the Opposition didn’t notice, or didn’t care to notice any of that. The former Prime Minister, the Member for Sedgefield, once said his three priorities were education, education, education. From the sounds of it it doesn't even make it into the new leader's top ten. I welcome his openness to reviewing each proposal by this government with an open mind, in spite of what he has said in this house today. I hope he will support the government on matters of national interest, such as the war in Iraq and other important matters. There can be no secret however that we are elected with two very clear and very different visions for the country, I must tell him though, the country will reject you now as they did the politics of old back then. New Labour is over, New Old Labour has begun. Thank you Mr Speaker.

Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, and Minister for the Civil Service The Rt Honourable Nicholas Colton MP Chancellor of the Exchequer and Second Lord of the Treasury The Rt Honourable Anthony Miles MP Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs The Rt Honourable William Croft MP Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for the Home Department The Rt Honourable Sarah Hastings MP Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families The Rt Honourable Katherine West MP Secretary of State for Defence The Rt Honourable Annette Burton MP Secretary of State for Communities The Rt Honourable Anne Carswell MP Secretary of State for Health and Social Welfare The Rt Honourable Michael Ashbridge MP Secretary of State for Innovation, Infrastructure, and the Environment The Rt Honourable Lily Holmes MP Chief Whip of the House of Commons and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury The Rt Honourable William Croft MP Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal The Rt Honourable Matthew Richard MP Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council The Lord Coe

I have just been to see Her Majesty the Queen and I will now form a majority Conservative government. It is with a pressing sadness that the nation finds itself with a new Prime Minister. I give thanks to my friend and colleague David Cameron for laying the foundations for a Conservative government to now be in power after ten long years on the opposition benches. One thing is clear: the country wants change. In our election campaign we promised the nation substantive change in the form of a new approach, a change of the politics of old which has dominated the political landscape of the last decade. Britain deserves a government that will work to form a big society, not diminish it by imposing top down control imposed by the powers that be who occupy many of these buildings we see around us. We as a nation need to install the tenets of a strong society and we can only do that when we strengthen our nation to better work together as one family. We will deliver on this change by creating an economy that works for everyone in our nation. That means creating an economy where people keep more of what they earn, where working people have a stake in our country’s future, and where every person no matter where they live has an equal shot at success. We aren’t going to build an economy that works for all by sentencing our children and grandchildren to a life of endless debt. Instead, this Government believes we build this better economy by making smart investments, giving taxpayers good value for money, encouraging personal growth and encouraging enterprise, to name a few. We will build an economy which is fair, gets our country moving and transforms Britain into a true meritocracy where the only factor that determines one's success is if they're willing to work for it. During the campaign, we told you that we will back the NHS and that is what we will do in government. We will send money directly to patient care, not to a top heavy bureaucracy. We will give healthcare professionals the trust their position needs and not politically directed targets. We believe in an NHS that is accessible and open and that is why we were elected to deliver on an urgent 24/7 care service. These are all policies which will result in a better NHS, free at the point of use for everyone in the nation. We all expect our children to learn in good schools. That will be the government's policy. We will increase the standards of our schools throughout the nation by ensuring good quality candidates teach in them - the key to a good education is the access for every child to a good teacher. We will ensure that each of our manifesto commitments on education are met so that all of our children get the best start in life. The government asks the nation to follow it on its journey where we will deliver this change for Britain. We will do these things and so much more. Only together can we build a nation and a society that works for each and every one of us. Thank you.

Name: Nicholas Colton Avatar: Micheal Martin Age: 53 Sex: Male Ethnicity: White Marital Status: Married Sexual Orientation: Straight Party: Conservative Political Outlook: One-Nation Conservatism Constituency: South West Surrey Year Elected: 1997 Education: Cambridge Career: Barrister Political Career: Backbench Conservative MP